PSK31

PSK 31

PSK
31 is a data mode using an SSB transceiver and computer sound card. The
beauty of this particular mode is that it occupies very little
bandwidth. This results in some great DX contacts that would not
normally be possible from a modestly equipped station using SSB. Here
are some PSK programmes that I have used and my personal opinions of
their capabilities.

One of the best adaptations of
PSK 31 is being able to automatically upload the callsigns of the
stations you receive to the PSK Automatic Propagation Reporter which
can be found at http://www.pskreporter.info . My radio & PC are nearly always on and sending reports to this web site.

DIGIPAN

This
is the first program that I used for PSK31 and is still my favourite to
use for QSO's. The controls to me are quite easy to operate, although
this may be due to fact that this the one that I have used the most.
Like all the other programs listed here, this program decodes all the
QSOs operating within the receive channel bandwidth and displays them
all in a multiple window on the right of the screen. This program cannot currently link to pskreporter.

This
program can work on just about any operating system and is very easy on
system resources. I use FLDIGI to upload my reports to pskreporter.info
as it has a simple "spot" button that uploads the data automatically.
The previous version of the software had the multi channel display appear as a "pop up" window. This has now been included in the main operating window which I feel is a much better arrangement. The program can be used to communicate using other
data modes and can also be configured to operate with CAT enabled radios.

Anyone
familiar with using Digipan will like this program. It is primarily
intended to be used with Vista machines and has a clean and uncluttered
layout. The latest version has the ability to upload reports to
pskreporter. I like the way that the
program extracts the station callsigns in the multiple message
display. The program can also control a compatible rig remotely.

The DM780 program can
handle a wide range of data modes including SSTV. It is a very
impressive program that really needs a 1GHz+ PC to work well. I can
get it to run on my 866MHz PC with 256MB of RAM but I need to make sure
that no other programs are running. The superbrowser is particularly
impressive but I find the display a bit too cluttered when I try to use
it for a QSO. DM780 is part of Ham Radio Deluxe which can be used to
remotely control your radio via your computer. DM780 can also be used
to upload data to pskreporter.info .